Rehearsing the end of the world.

[Notebook]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8110000/8110678.stm

Scary stuff.

"R hour would be the final release of nuclear weapons. There may have been an earlier tactical use of nuclear weapons but R hour was everything that's left goes".

"everything thats left goes."

Just about sums it up.

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

The scenarios for some of the exercises have already been released.
For instance, the one which began in late September 1968 includes the Soviet Union landing astronauts on the moon


By 17 October, the day of the Soviet moon landing, tension had risen. Czechoslovakian and Hungarian troops were said to be massing on the border with Austria. Soviet fighters had been harassing civil aircraft in the Berlin corridors, causing an American airliner to crash.

The cause-to-consequence connection doesn't seem obvious. :hmm:

 

[tl8]

Sum of all Fears by Tom Clancy has alot of similar detail in it about the US system. Whether it is true or not is not know but I assume it would be close.

 

[Notebook]

The cause-to-consequence connection doesn't seem obvious. :hmm:

Probably a Whitehall civil-service sense of ironic humour at the Americans expense
I doubt its meant seriously, just putting some atmosphere, or realism into the scenarios. Maybe we'll find out when the historians get at it?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

You need no realistic scenario for starting a military exercise. You only need the budget to start one.

 

[doggie015]

and who defines "Valid Reason" anyway? :lol:

Seriously though: The EOTW is a lot more serious than Foxtel's EOFYS. It takes a lot of planning which is renered useless as you die before you can act out the plans if the world was REALLY ending anyway!

 

[Notebook]

I suppose it all added to the training. Don't think they were under any illusions about what would have happened had "R-Hour" come.
This is a document from the early 60's:-

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/Notebook_04/img008-1.jpg

Paragraph (h) is the one that counts.

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

This is a document from the early 60's:-

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/Notebook_04/img008-1.jpg

Paragraph (h) is the one that counts.

N.

Worked then, but hardened silos aren't such a great protection anymore, with development of higher precision warheads. They can be smaller and used in fewer numbers to take out an enemy's nuclear force.

 

[Artlav]

I wonder what reasons for an all-out nuclear war are contemplated by current militaries.

 

[Ghostrider]

I wonder what reasons for an all-out nuclear war are contemplated by current militaries.

Boredom?

 

[Notebook]

Tedium?

N.

 

[Donamy]

Because they have them.

 

[Notebook]

Worked then, but hardened silos aren't such a great protection anymore, with development of higher precision warheads. They can be smaller and used in fewer numbers to take out an enemy's nuclear force.

It worked then? Perhaps it did, we are all still here. Would you now trust a development of that strategy?

N.

 

[n122vu]

I wonder what reasons for an all-out nuclear war are contemplated by current militaries.

The nuclear-arms-bearing nations of the world telling another nation with nuclear capability and military strength that they can't have nuclear weapons comes to mind...

 

[SiberianTiger]

It worked then? Perhaps it did, we are all still here. Would you now trust a development of that strategy?

N.

Not completely. But we had a whole thread discussing that: http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=6855

 

[Notebook]

I'm not sure I agree, the idea of MAD is that its guaranteed we all die? That is the premise of the document, and the BBC item from the archive, as I see it.

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

I'm not sure I agree, the idea of MAD is that its guaranteed we all die? That is the premise of the document, and the BBC item from the archive, as I see it.

N.

No, the idea behind MAD is that nobody will die as long as no one goes MAD. The feared alternative is that one will die otherwise - who badly doesn't want to.

 

[RangerPL]

I wonder what reasons for an all-out nuclear war are contemplated by current militaries.

KJ Il didn't take his medicine that day.

 

[Ark]

I find it amazing that we've been able to essentially stand around for half a century with loaded guns pointed at each other's heads and nobody has fired or lowered their weapon yet.

 

[Andy44]

I find it amazing that we've been able to essentially stand around for half a century with loaded guns pointed at each other's heads and nobody has fired or lowered their weapon yet.

Don't jinx us, man.